New Licensing Deals Inked for Pocoyo

Zinkia and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment have inked a raft of new licensing agreements for the multi award-winning animation series Pocoyo, bringing the total number of licensees to over 100 and the total number of references in the market to over 1,500.

Madrid, 8 June 2010 - Zinkia and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment have inked a raft of new licensing agreements for the multi award-winning animation series Pocoyo, bringing the total number of licensees to over 100 and the total number of references in the market to over 1,500.

The 104 x 7 minute CGI series, co-produced by Zinkia and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment, is currently airing seven days a week on Nick Jr., Nickelodeon’s 24-hour commercial-free, educational preschool network in the US, and has been licensed to broadcasters in over 100 territories worldwide.

Recent licensing partnerships secured in Europe include: publishing giant Panini which is to produce a monthly Pocoyo magazine starting September 2010; Supergrass which has developed a range of themed computer accessories including speakers, webcams and digital frames; Ideal Casa launching a range of home ware and accessories; Dolci Preziosi producing chocolate eggs with gifts inside and Dr.Play which is rolling out themed playgrounds in Spain. Overall, over 1,500 references have been developed in the market so far covering all categories.

Maria Doolan, Managing Director Brand and Business Development at Zinkia, said, ‘We’re really excited to have signed up over 100 licensees for Pocoyo. At Zinkia we invest a lot of creative energy building the brand; we’re constantly producing new content and images to keep Pocoyo fresh and compelling. We work hard with our strategic partners to ensure the products and marketing campaigns are successful and true to the core brand values.

Marina Lum-Kang, SVP Brand Extensions & Integrated Marketing at ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment added, “ITV Studios is thrilled that Pocoyo has secured so many quality licensing partners. Pocoyo is a great show, endorsing curiosity and tolerance, imagination, love and laughter, and it has a great future ahead of it.”

In Spain, where the series airs on state broadcaster TVE as well as pay-TV platform Boomerang, Pocoyo is the country’s biggest animation export and a huge domestic hit, shifting more than 2.5 million toys, 700,000 books and leading the ranking in DVD sales with 1.2 million units.

Outside Europe, Bandai America Incorporated, master-toy licensee for Pocoyo in the U.S. and Canada, is launching an extensive toy line due to hit retail outlets this fall. Products will include Squeeze n’ Play plush, Bath Fun figures and an adorable Bump n’ Go electronic car, enabling preschoolers to learn and discover right along with Pocoyo.

Pocoyo is a multi-platform property, enjoying strong online presence with the virtual world www.pocoyoworld.com, also available as www.mundopocoyo.com, attracting over 4.5 million visitors, over 150million hits on YouTube, 25million downloads from the offical Pocoyo website, and 4 million people using the ‘Pocoyize’ customizing application.

Worldwide rights for Pocoyo are handled by ITV Studios Global Entertainment with the exception of Spain, Italy, Portugal and Latin America which are handled by Zinkia. Exploitation rights for China are shared by both companies. Bandai America has the master-toy licensing agreement in the USA and Canada.

About Zinkiawww.zinkia.comZinkia Entertainment, which specialises in the creation and management of entertainment brands for the international market, is primarily involved in the animation business, creating quality content for the audiovisual market as well as interactive content for multi-player console and online games.

Founded in 2001, Zinkia is headquartered in Madrid, with a commercial office in Beijing, China. Zinkia’s TV series and associated merchandising and licensing products are distributed to over 100 territories worldwide. TV credits include the multi-award winning series Pocoyo and the successful series Shuriken School. Zinkia also created and recently launched the virtual universe PocoyoWorld.com, targeted at young children.

About ITV STUDIOS Global EntertainmentITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment is one of the world’s leading international TV distribution, home-entertainment, merchandising and licensing businesses. ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment proudly represents a world-class portfolio from ITV Studios, Granada and over 200 leading independent producers. Showcasing more than 35,000 hours of critically celebrated and hugely-popular original and formatted programming, including all new Hell’s Kitchen, Come Dine with Me, Dancing on Ice, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Coronation Street, Agatha Christie’s Marple and Poirot, Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect and The Prisoner

About Pocoyo (www.pocoyo.com - www.pocoyoworld.com)The TV series Pocoyo (104 x 7 minutes), co-produced by Zinkia Entertainment and ITV Studios Global Entertainment, is produced using 3D Softimage XSi technology and rendered with Arnold. The property, which started as a TV series, is now a multi-platform global brand, licensed to over 100 countries worldwide, with extensive publishing, merchandising, licensing and home entertainment products. In October 2009 Zinkia launched a virtual universe, Pocoyoworld.com, enabling children and carers to share a host of fun and educational activities with their favourite characters. The series has notched up a host of accolades including a BAFTA, 3 Pulcinella awards and Best Animated Series at Annecy.

About Bandai America IncorporatedA leader in developing engaging, quality toys that capture children’s imaginative spirit and provide endless "Fun for the Future," Bandai America Incorporated is the manufacturer and master toy licensee of some of the most popular brands in children’s toys and interactive entertainment today. The Bandai America best-selling brand family includes Power Rangers, Ben 10, Harumika®, Tamagotchi, Pocoyo and Teeny Little Families among other boys, girls, pre-school and hobby product lines. Bandai America Incorporated is a subsidiary of NAMCO BANDAI Holdings (USA) Inc., an entity that resulted from the integration of Namco Ltd. and Bandai Co. Ltd. of Japan. Global interests encompass four strategic business units: toys and hobby, amusement facilities, game contents & visual and music content. The company is headquartered in Cypress, California. Find out more about our expertise in connecting with kids in fun and fresh ways at www.Bandai.com.